Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

KIRK DOUGLAS was stunned to be presented with a top movie award by California Governor ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER on Thursday night (05Nov09) - because he coached the muscleman on his first ever film. Read Full Story

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's finance director is stepping down after four years, leaving the administration to fill a key vacancy as the state faces what is expected to be another multibillion dollar deficit. Finance Director Mike Genest announced Monday he would retire after the governor finds a replacement. The governor's office has not decided on a timeline for identifying a successor. Finance Department spokesman H.D. Palmer said Genest was leaving voluntarily but has yet to decide his next move. The 62-year-old Republican has served as Schwarzenegger's chief budget writer and has dealt with steep deficits and spending reductions in recent years. Palmer said Genest is ... Read Full Story

California's largest utility said it plans to boost the amount of solar power it buys from residents and businesses as the state pushes for wider use of alternative energy. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger predicted that Monday's proposal by San Francisco-based Pacific Gas & Electric Co. would open the way for more companies and homeowners to install rooftop panels to generate power. Schwarzenegger last month ordered utilities to get a third of their power from renewable sources by 2020, the most aggressive green energy standard in the nation. To meet the threshold "we have to really use every means to get there," the Republican governor told ... Read Full Story

A California state lawmaker who heckled Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger during a recent event in San Francisco has found two messages in a veto letter from the governor. One is the veto message itself. The other is a common four-letter vulgarity followed by the letters y-o-u. The second message is visible by stringing together the first letter of each line down the left-hand margin. Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear called the embedded message a coincidence. The letter was sent to Democratic Assemblyman Tom Ammiano of San Francisco. He was among the hecklers when Schwarzenegger made a surprise appearance during a Democratic fundraiser this month in San ... Read Full Story

From the LA Times: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget director is departing after nearly four years in one of the most influential posts in Sacramento. Budget czar Mike Genest announced his departure Monday, as a financial crisis continued to grip the state. His Department of Finance has predicted a $7.4-billion deficit for the fiscal year that begins next summer. The figure is expected to balloon -- perhaps tripling -- as a result of sagging revenues, court rulings blocking recent budget cuts and overly optimistic savings projections by the Legislature and governor. Genest said in an interview that he would leave by year's end, or sooner ... Read Full Story